Why can’t Terry get it right

[May Day 10]

This part of your post is why I went from a Adams basher to someone that defends him (when I feel the facts are being misconstrued).

Adams is an ok manager. He has people under him that give him ideas and he listens to them all and has the bulk of the front office and coaching staff in on team building decisions.

Because of my posts, I now have been labellled an "Adams fanboy". I've never said Adams was a very good GM. I've just said that the team could do a whole lot worse given the ownership situation.

Adams may be unable to make big moves, but that means he is unable to make big terrible moves.

I agree wholeheartidly with you when you say they need a hockey mind with experience, clout, and credibility at the very top of the organization, but right now that position is being occupied by Terry Pegula, who likely has the NHL team building skills of a Banana Slug.

Does anyone think the next GM Pegula hand picks is going to be a shrewd hockey manager that is going to make his own decisions and build a contender? I do not.

With Adams we get good drafting, no bad UFA contract decisions that will sink the organization for years, and no trading said good draft picks for short-term marginal(sometimes) upgrades.

Given the Pegula situation, I would like to see what the input from a more experienced coaching staff could do under Adams before having Terry rebuild the front office in the way he thinks is wisest. That notion scares the hell out of me.

That is an interesting point of view. Not incorrect. It is a bit hopeless and depressing though.

I think Adams is a better GM than Murray and Botterill, although I might give Murray the nod at pro-scouting. Murray sold a treasure trove of assets for pennies on the dollar. I thought Botterill was dreadful at most aspects (but I wonder how much say he had in Housley and Krueger).

I do like how Adams guards the assets, even though it is to a fault. I feel like they fall back on analytics to a fault and it undermines having a stratified, well-rounded, and gritty NHL roster. It could be a lot worse than Adams, and even if Pegula made a move, someone from within would probably get the job. Someone Pegula is comfortable communicating with.

Same thing goes with Granato. If/when they fire him (they might need to use him as a sacrifice at some point), the replacement isnt going to be Berube or Gallant. It will be Appert or Ellis. They would either life the interim tag 4th of July weekend or hire a college coach nobody wants like Guy Gadowsky from Penn State.

Everything has such a low bar and is depressing.

They seem to have alienated the alumni too, so we can't even go to games and be pumped full of nostalgia to feel good about.

 

[BuffaloMango]

The honest answer is that he is an organizational dummy. He didn't run his oil and gas business. He was the geologist by trade and had a seperate team of businessmen and investors to run that side of the business and his job was to find the gas, everybody else did everything else.

This is a direct quote from Pegula after his second year owning the team. Literally the rest of the league is like "WTF are you doing Terry".

At the time we thought we finally had a guy willing to spend in the NHL, but 10 years later it turns out he just sucks.

“I think if you probably talk to other owners around the league, they might think that I may spend too much money,” Pegula said. “You may hear that or whatever, but that’s my style. … You might talk to some of the other owners around the league, and they’ll tell you, ‘Who’s this new owner? What is he, crazy? Why did you give this guy money or that guy?’ Hey, it’s my decision. It was something I wanted to do.”

 

[sabres4ever]

My two cents. I can see if they continue losing, Donnie getting the axe. Adams will talk to TP before hand, and likely suggest that Donnie has to go, if the team is to advance.

I don't think TP thinks that Adams in the problem. While he has been adequate/good on drafting, as many others pointed out, he can't build a roster properly. That worries me.

If they do fire Donnie, (not sure when that would happen, I could see them hanging on to him til the end of the season) we may have a surge, but I don't see us making the playoffs.

New coach this year or next, I don't believe it will make that much of an impact, unless there are player changes made. I don't think Adams sees that happening.

So, we could go two, three, four? more years without playoffs, unless something drastic is done, and I just don't think TP will rock the boat, he seems to be good with "promoting from within."

I could be wrong about all of this, but, we've suffered for so long now. I had finally gotten my late wife into Sabres hockey, and then we never went anywhere.

I'm about 5 yrs from retirement, and I would love to move back there, where all my family is, especially to be able to get season tickets for Bills/Sabres, but if they're going to still suck, or be gone, what's the point. I'm frustrated like everyone else, and I don't think TP gives a crap about improving them. I feel like he thinks if he just keeps trying the same things, he'll 'luck out.'

/rant

 

[stealth1]

I do wonder if a log why they don't spend big bucks on free agency anymore goes back to when he first bought the team. He went all in signing a bunch of free agents to big contracts and it failed big time. Since then they don't spend the money anymore.

Also due to Murray and Botterill failing I think he's afraid to go after someone he doesn't know. It feels a lot like the Ralph Wilson days with the Bills.

 

[Chainshot]

I do wonder if a log why they don't spend big bucks on free agency anymore goes back to when he first bought the team. He went all in signing a bunch of free agents to big contracts and it failed big time. Since then they don't spend the money anymore.

Also due to Murray and Botterill failing I think he's afraid to go after someone he doesn't know. It feels a lot like the Ralph Wilson days with the Bills.

With Wilson, there was the span (we'll call it the 1970's) that is starting to remind me of the Sabres now. At least Pegula hasn't let an all-pro WR go because he needed to buy a horse.

 

[slip]

With Wilson, there was the span (we'll call it the 1970's) that is starting to remind me of the Sabres now. At least Pegula hasn't let an all-pro WR go because he needed to buy a horse.

Pegula let an entire organization go ‘cause he needed to buy a boat.

 

[paulmm3]

Terry prioritizes nice guys and good people to a fault. There's definitely something to it - you want your players to be earnest and hard working and not total POS. But, for whatever reason, I think this same process has kept us from getting anyone with any amount of bite or "hard to play against" to their game.

Edit: Honestly, I think this is true and somewhat of a problem even beyond the players. Most of the coaches and public facing team staff I can get a read on fall into the same mold. Krueger, Granato, and Sean McDermott with the Bills being 3 big examples.

 

[Chainshot]

Terry prioritizes nice guys and good people to a fault. There's definitely something to it - you want your players to be earnest and hard working and not total POS. But, for whatever reason, I think this same process has kept us from getting anyone with any amount of bite or "hard to play against" to their game.

A few of his hires have been snake oil salesmen. Some have not had the experience for the position hired in the least (LaFontaine) but he was hero worshiping him.

 

[paulmm3]

A few of his hires have been snake oil salesmen. Some have not had the experience for the position hired in the least (LaFontaine) but he was hero worshiping him.

True, but I think they've sold him sugary sweet snake oil. None of his hires on either the Bills or the Sabres side have been anywhere near the Peter Laviolette or John Tortorella type. Not that that's always the type of person you need in every situation, but I do feel like it's the type of coach the Sabres need now.

 

[Jacob582]

I think a big problem with not being able to turn a corner is that competent people still don't want to come to Buffalo (GM's, coaches and players).

Don't need the big free agents. Just good players to fill certain roles.

 

[TehDoak]

The worst part about Terry is he's a big fan. He bought the team to be part of the front office. I think there are several key inflection points of the team where that only make sense where a guy calling WGR to complain was running the team.

1. The Ville Leino contract. Richards told us to f*** off. WGR whiner line guy? "f*** it, get the next best guy!"
2. The RoR trade. Whiner line guy: "Guy says he's lost the love of the game, trade him, trade him now!"
3. The Skinner contract. Whiner line guy: "He's a top tier goal scorer, give him what he wants!!!"

The WGR whiner line guy owns the team.

I think in football, he realizes he's out of his depth. At least at some level, he lets his people do the work. In hockey though....he's the co-GM.

No GM with a winning track record will accept that. They will want some autonomy. Until the Pegulas take a step back from the fantasy NHL GM camp they've been running and let someone else with experience build the team, we're doomed to repeat this. I rant and rave about Adams, but the reality is he should have never been hired as GM, that is on the owner. It's not Adams fault he has no experience or context to make good hockey decisions, that's on the Pegulas for hiring someone with no experience.